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A growing city with a bright economic future deserves schools it can be proud of throughout the city – schools that can attract families seeking the best education, schools that can inspire children in disadvantaged or dysfunctional families to strive for a better life and make better choices. Considering one in every four county residents lives below the poverty line, the system should be saluted for doing as good as can be expected. But “good” is not good enough. Not anymore. Metro Augusta is growing, thanks to its large and stable health care, nuclear and diverse manufacturing industries, not to mention a rapidly expanding technology sector being fueled by the buildup of Fort Gordon’s cybersecurity and electronic intelligence-gathering missions. A growing city with a bright economic future deserves schools it can be proud of throughout the city – schools that can attract families seeking the best education, schools that can inspire children in disadvantaged or dysfunctional families to strive for a better life and make better choices. We know the city as a whole feels the same way. It is evident by the outpouring of support in recent years from community leaders, business owners, nonprofits and institutional stakeholders. Those groups have long been concerned with the state of education in Richmond County, but they have been jolted into action by the relocation of U.S. Army Cyber Command and a looming workforce shortage that will occur across all industries during the next decade as the tail end of the boomer generation enters retirement. Cyber Command’s highly educated civilian and active-duty workers, many of whom are accustomed to living in urban environments, are seeking the best educational experience for their children. Right now, the most consistent cluster of quality schools in the region is found in Columbia County, which is siphoning off potential residents and the economic benefits they bring to the community. We have no ill will toward Columbia County, but the success of its school system is based primarily on families of means who could – or would – be residing in Richmond County, the income source for the majority of its residents, if Richmond County had more “A”s and “B”s on its report card. As for the issue of retiring workers: Who will fill their shoes? If it’s not Richmond County’s young adults, it will be young adults from somewhere else. The county must “grow its own” skilled workforce or employers will be forced to recruit their talent from other parts of the metro area or outside the region. While newcomers are great for enhancing the area’s diversity and cultural fabric, is that more important than providing opportunities for this community’s own children? We don’t believe so. From an economic standpoint, Augusta’s next decade could be like no other. The community will see whether the influx of the Defense Department’s high-tech investment in Fort Gordon will be as “transformational” for the city as some community leaders have predicted. But even if it is not, there is absolutely no umbrage to take with the school system’s very deliberate focus on cyber-based educational programs and work-readiness initiatives. Both programs, each less than five years old, already are creating dividends by graduates moving directly into well-paying jobs, rather than incurring large amounts of debt for four-year degrees that may be of dubious value in the future workplace. The message for the school system is to keep innovating, keep motivating and continue holding every employee accountable. Richmond County has neither the time nor the room for clock-punchers. The message for the community is to continue – better yet, accelerate – the support it has shown the school system during the past few years. The partnerships that have been forged between the private sector and the district are making a difference in the lives of many students – the young people who, without a helping hand and some positive direction, could easily be future liabilities rather than workers, leaders and innovators. As Richmond County School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw says elsewhere in this edition: “All children are born and they all can learn at the same level. Even though there can be obstacles, our goal as educators is to provide them with those opportunities.” If you as an individual can help educators provide those opportunities and clear those obstacles, now is the time. <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com | 9 1117_T_06_AM____.indd 9 10/25/<strong>2019</strong> 11:31:47 AM
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